It is unknown how the Ministry of Justice justifies the need to apply the law on media-foreign agents since March 2018.

The Ministry of Justice proposes to apply the law on media - foreign agents, adopted in November, from March 2018. This is stated in the notice published by the Ministry of Justice on the drafting of a departmental act on the application of the law on media - foreign agents.

It is unknown how the Ministry of Justice justifies the need to apply the law on media-foreign agents since March 2018. The project of a departmental act in public access has not yet been posted.

The law, which allows the Ministry of Justice to register foreign media as foreign agents was adopted in November. Media with the status of foreign agent will have to report to the Russian agency on their work and label their products. The Ministry of Justice should determine how exactly the new law will be applied.

In early December, the Ministry of Justice named the first foreign agents. The list included Voice of America and Radio Liberty, as well as seven Radio Liberty’s projects – Nastoyashee Vremya (Real Time) television channel, the Tatar-Bashkir service of Radio Liberty, Sibir Realii, Idel.Realii, Faktograf, Kavkaz.Realii and Crimea.Realii.

In March 2018, presidential elections will be held in Russia. December 6, incumbent President Vladimir Putin announced that he would run for another (fourth) term.